"So, what have you been up to these days?"

"Oh, you know, the usual: Anime, I've been helping out Aunty Aiko at her restaurant now that business's been booming. It's kinda a part-time job too since we're only a year away from University."

"Really? I thought you wanted to be a teacher?"

"Ehehe...well, I still kind of do, but not many people am in the need of tuition and...You know my grades aren't that good, but anyway, can you pass me the fries?"

"Wow, Sayori, you really know how to make a dour situation lighter, don't you?"

"I guess so. What about you, what are you doing in your free time?"

"Well, not much I guess: I'm catching up on One Piece and I've been gaming a ton...Oh come on, what's that look supposed to mean?"

"Anon, come on. Surely you've got something better to do at home. Did you sign up for any electives?"

"Nope; Most of them seem quite boring to me."

"You could always help out with me at Aunty Aiko's restaurant!"

"Ehh, I don't think I'm cut out for cooking; have you seen the food I tried to make during Economics?"

"Yeah, but that was years ago! I'm sure you're a better cook now!"

"Sorry, Sayori; I'll probably be more of a burden than a help."

"You could wash dishes."

"Oh, then definitely not."

"Ehh? Meanie..."

"What? And did you finish my fries?!"

Sayori looked down at her packet of fries and realized that it completely empty.

"UWAH! Y-YOU DIDN'T TELL ME I WAS EATING!" Sayori tried defending herself. Seeing the girl so exasperated Anon couldn't help but laugh.

"Ahaha, its fine, Sayori, but I'm eating your share the next time we order McDonalds, alright?"

"Ehhhhh? Fine..." the energetic girl pouted as the two continued with their burgers in silence. Anon might not have known, but Sayori ecstatic: Not only had she finally reconnected with her old friend, but the reunion wasn't awkward and uncomfortable; it was as if he'd never left.

"Oh!" Sayori said out of nowhere, causing Anon to choke on his drink.

"Gah! –cough cough - GodDAMNit, Sayori – cough cough - look what you've done!"

"Oh, sorry Anon, but this is important! I have an idea of what you can-"

"HACK, COUGH!"

"-Don't interrupt me, Anon! What I was saying was; maybe you could join a club!"

"Ahem, yes sure Sayori, that's nice, can you pass me a napkin?"

"Oh, I'm so happy you've agreed to this, Anon!' said Sayori as she handed Anon some serviettes. "This would be a chance for you to broaden your horizons!"

"Ah, of course, of course. Wow. Thanks for almost killing me, Sayori."

"Hehe! Just think about what I said, alright?"

Anon wiped his mouth as he finally looked back at his old friend. "What did she say? I was too busy trying not to die." He thought. "Oh well, I'd better agree with her anyway."

"Err, yeah. I'll do it if it makes you happy, alright? Now come on, let's go home before our moms worry about us."

"OH! OH! OH! I just got a brilliant idea!" Sayori chirped as Anon started cleaning up. "We should totally go over to your house and play!"

"Play?"

"Yeah! You know, like what we used to do when-" Sayori's enthusiasm faded as she realised what she was about to say. "-we were younger..."

"Sayori, no one says that when they want to HANG OUT. It sounds real baby-like if you ask me-" Anon stopped himself after seeing Sayori's disappointed look. "-but...Sure! You can come over. It'll be like you said-old times!"

"Really?" Sayori exclaimed as her disappointed vanished. "YAY! You're the best, Anon!" she cheered as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

"S-Sayori!" The boy cried out in embarrassment as his face turned red. His hands scrambled to pry Sayori's arms off of him. "Ok, ok; I get it-you can let go now..."

"Hmph-meanie..." muttered Sayori as she reluctantly let go. "Well, what are you waiting for then; let's go!"

"H-hey! You're just gonna leave me here to clean up after you?"

"Last one to your house is a rotten egg!"

Anon sighed as Sayori ran off, leaving him behind with hamburger wrappers and empty cups. "This girl man..." he said to himself shaking his head. "I'll still beat you there, you hear me?"

...

"D-Dad? I-I'm home."

Natsuki carefully opened the front door as she peered inside. Her eyes went straight away to the couch. "Empty...Dad? You home?" Silence greeted the pink-haired girl. Natsuki decided to finally enter the apartment.

"Phew." She sighed as she plopped her schoolbag onto the floor. Immediately her eyes went over to the kitchen. "I hope he at least left me something..." Natsuki said to herself, though with not much confidence. Natsuki entered the kitchen to find unwashed pots and pans still in the sink along with multiple beer bottles lying around the floor. The petite girl gritted her teeth as she began picking up the green bottles, some still containing beer. "Ugh, it smells like shit." she commented as she caught a whiff of the alcohol.

"How the hell can he drink this and NOT vomit?" Disgusted, she threw the bottles into the dustbin. "I'd better clear this before he gets home." Natsuki went over to her sink and opened the cabinet door underneath it. After rummaging around for a few seconds, she emerged with a handful of plastic bags. "This should be enough."

Natsuki walked back to the dustbin and began emptying it into the plastic bags. As the contents poured out, Natsuki's face cringed more and more. "ACK!" Natsuki retched as a slimy, half-eaten chicken wing fell out and into the plastic bag with a sickening "plop".

"WHAT THE FUCK, DAD?! THERE'S MOLD GROWING ON IT!"

After that ordeal, Natsuki decided to take a break. "There'd better be at least SOME food in here..." Natsuki angrily muttered as she opened the fridge door. "Let's see: Beer, beer, ketchup bottle that is probably expired, beer, empty ice tray, cooking oil even though we don't cook, oh; what a surprise: beer!" With a huff, Natsuki slammed the fridge door shut. "Forget it: Break over..." she sighed as she went back to tying up her makeshift trash bags.

"Gasp!"Natsuki's head turned as footsteps shuffled outside the front door. Her eyes grew wide in fear as she hastily gathered the plastic bags and put them next to the dustbin. Key sounds could be heard.

"No no no no no no no..." she pleaded in panic as the door unlocked. A few soft groans followed suit. "Please not yet-I still haven't washed the damn dishes..."

As Natsuki rushed over to the sink, someone walked into the kitchen behind her. Natsuki winced as she slowly turned around.

In her face was a man that was taller than her, but not that much taller. His hair was unkempt and was falling all over his face which had dirty stubble growing on it. He had a pair of deep blue spectacles and behind them, eyes that had "wasted" written all over them. He had a button-down shirt, but part of it was not tucked in and left hanging over his jeans which were stained at the knees and up the thighs. His tie was loosely hanging around his neck and his left shirt collar was folded up. The man took one look at Natsuki before burping and walking back out. The smell of beer reeked from said burp.

"Once you finish the –hic- dishes, go prepare dinner: I'm starving..." the man called out as he sat himself down on the couch and turned on the television.

"Y-yes dad..." Natsuki uttered weakly as tears of relief dripped from her eyes. She turned back to the sink and began scrubbing thee dirty plates.

"Hey Natsuki-" Natsuki's heart skipped a beat. "-do we still have beer in the fridge?"

"Oh thank fucking god..." screamed Natsuki's brain as she let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Y-yes dad, we do. I-I'll pass a bottle to you right now." Natsuki wiped her hands dry before opening the fridge and taking out a beer bottle. "Asahi Super Dry" read the label. Natsuki walked out into the living room. Her father was laid back on the couch with his feet kicked up on the coffee table. The television had the six o'clock news on it.

"H-here you go d-dad..."

The dishevelled man took the bottle from Natsuki's hand without a word. After standing there awkwardly for a few seconds, Natsuki went back to the kitchen.

"Hey-I'll take tired, confused Shinzo over angry, painting-throwing Shinzo any day of the week..." she thought to herself.

After a few minutes in the kitchen, Natsuki apprehensively walked back into the living room.

"Dad...I-I'm going out to buy dinner now...could I have some money to buy us something nice today?"

Shinzo slowly turned to face his daughter. His eyes were on the verge of closing.

"Suurreee, just...anything...my WaLLeT is right –sniff- therrrree..." Shinzo pointed to the dining table. As Natsuki quickly walked over to the table, sure enough, his wallet was lying there. It was a brown leather wallet, though most of it had been worn down and some of the stitching had come undone. Opening it up, Natsuki opened the compartment for the notes and took out 1000 Yen. "This should be enough..." she thought to herself. As she closed the note compartment, her eyes landed on her father's identity card. "Tamura, Shinzo" it read. She took one look at the image of the man on the identity card and looked back to her father on the couch. In contrast, the man in the photo was smiling and his hair was neatly combed. His eyes weren't as heavy and his chin was clear of any hair. Of course, this was many years ago, way before...

Tears filled Natsuki's eyes as she thought back to her childhood. Shaking her head, she decided to leave before her father got angry.

"I'm heading off now, bye dad!" she said as she hastily opened the front door. Shinzo merely grunted, but by then, Natsuki had long since left the apartment.

...

"How did you beat meeeeeee?!"

"I told you I would reach my OWN HOUSE first. Now stop whining, Sayori..."

"Hmph...you couldn't even let me win just once, could you?"

"Sayori-you made me clean up after you! I'd say I deserved to win."

"Uwaah! Don't make me feel baaaaddd..." Sayori continued whining.

"Haha, alright, alright, next time we go out, I'll pay for your meal, deal?"

At the sound of food, Sayori's eyes and ears perked up. "Really?! It's a deal!" While Anon turned to unlock his front door, a thought came across Sayori's mind. "Next time we go out...does that mean-?"

"Oh, hello Sayori! It's been such a long time!" Sayori whirled around to see a woman with long black hair. Her eyes were dark brown and she had long, lush eyelashes. She had a dark-green coloured shirt on her along with a pair of jean shorts. Her nose was also small but sharp, similar to Anon's.

"Mrs. Kazuma, Hi!" Sayori giggled with glee as she ran up to hug her. Anon's mother looked at him with a bemused smile on her face before reciprocating Sayori's hug.

"So, Mom, Sayori wanted to come over and hang out for a while, would that be okay? I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

"Don't worry about a thing. Sayori, you're always welcome to our home, alright?" Lisa gave Sayori a warm smile, causing Sayori's face to redden.

"Aww, you're the best, Mrs. Kazuma! Come on, Anon, let's go!"

Anon and Sayori walked into the spacious house and up the stairs to Anon's room.

"Wow, I just smelled your Mom's cooking and it's pretty good! I wish I could stay here for dinner."

"Sayori, YOUR Mom is a way better cook-"

"I heard that!" Lisa shouted from the kitchen.

"-no offense, Mom! Still, though; I would long to taste your Mom's savoury Miso Soup. When was the last time I tried it? Grade Four?"

"You never tried it..." Sayori mumbled softly.

"What was that?" Anon raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing!" Sayori replied, returning to her usual cheery self. As the two entered Anon's room, Anon carefully set his schoolbag; a sturdy blue backpack, onto his desk. Sayori dropped hers; a pink sling bag, onto the floor.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"I guess we could start with homework. I have this Biology assignment that is due tomorrow morning, but I'm almost done, so I guess I can do it later. What subjects do you take again?"

"The main three and Social Studies, why?"

"Do you take Chemistry?"

"Nope: It's too formulaic and honestly, I'm not good with all the mixing and reactions and all that. Maths is enough for me."

"Who's your Japanese teacher?"

"Mr Yamamoto, why?"

"Did he give you any homework?"

"Err, not really; he just asked the class to read up on the next chapter."

"Aww man. I've got a bunch of homework but you don't have the same practices. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Hey, don't worry, alright? I'll try my best to help you for Japanese. For Chemistry, I guess I can lend you my Mom's old textbooks?"

"Nah, the syllabus probably changed like a ga-zillion times by now, but thanks for the help; I really appreciate it!"

"Don't mention it, Sayori. You get started first; I've got some washing up to do." Anon said as he grabbed a light-blue towel from his desk.

"Anon! Your desk is super untidy! Do you not clean it?"

"Jeez, Sayori! You sound exactly like my Mom!"

"Ehh? Meanie...I was just trying to help!"

"I know, I know. I'll tidy it up later if it makes you feel better, alright?"

"Would you promise me you'll at least sort your clothes?"

Anon smirked. "Alright. I'll do at least that: You have my promise."

...

The streets simmered under the warm glow of the setting sun. Leaves blew across the grey roads with the calm late afternoon wind. On the sidewalk, a pink-haired girl was aimlessly walking around, peering at street signs and the handful of shops neatly packaged in rows alongside them.

"Wow, how long has it been since I've been to this area? They totally redesigned it!"

Natsuki was confused. In her quest to buy her and her father a nice dinner, she had gotten herself lost in an area she hadn't been to since she was young. Now, the streets and shops were completely different, but she hoped at least one of them stayed the same.

"E-excuse me, officer..." Natsuki approached a tall police officer with blonde hair. The young man turned around and immediately Natsuki's face turned red. He had the most beautifully blue eyes that sparkled. His nose was sharp and he had a strong jaw line. As he turned to face her, Natsuki realised just how muscular his arms were. His chest was hulking out of his tight white uniform and even tighter deep blue vest.

"I-I-I..." the star struck girl stammered. The police officer responded with a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha, there's no need to be nervous, young lady, do you need to know something?"

"Oh erm, Hahaha..." Natsuki laughed nervously, "Do you know where the Miso Kitchen is?"

"Oh! You're talking about Aunty Aiko's restaurant, aren't you? It's down this road and to the left and it's the second shop; next to the provision store. It has bright pink banners; you can't miss it."

"Pink banners?" Natsuki looked intrigued. "Since when did that store have pink banners? The last time I remember; it was all brown and black."

"That's because Aunty Aiko now also sells fruit parfait and it seems to have taken off within the younger residents here. I'll admit: It was pretty good when I tried."

"Parfait?" Natsuki's ears perked up at that. "Hmm..." Natsuki rummaged around in her wallet. She dug out two 500 Yen coins. "Maybe I can get Dad something a little extra..." She turned back to the police officer.

"Well, I'd better get going then. Thanks for your help!" Natsuki said as she batted her eyelids. "I'm Natsuki, by the way."

"James. It's really nice to meet you!" the charming young man stuck out his hand, to which Natsuki firmly shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Officer James." Natsuki responded with a flirty smile. James smiled back with an equally flirtatious grin on his face. "I'll see you around, Natsuki." James watched as the pink-haired girl headed down the street before walking off himself.

...

"Miso Kitchen-this should be it!" Natsuki pushed open the glass doors to the cute little restaurant. Inside, she was pleasantly surprised to see that the restaurant was in a good condition: The tables were all nicely cleaned, the walls looked like the paint was still fresh and the entire interior just had an extremely homely feel to it. A few customers were chatting at a few of the tables, but the restaurant looked empty for the most part. Towards the back of the dining area, an elderly woman was hunched over, dusting the floor.

"S-sorry, err...Maam? Miss? This is the Miso Kitchen, right?" The old woman slowly looked towards Natsuki, making her nervous. "I-I was just asking because there doesn't seem to be many people here."

"You are in the right place, dear! It's just an hour until dinner service is ready, so not many people are here yet. Come in, come in!" the old woman welcomed Natsuki with open arms, but the cute girl still looked rather flustered as all the patrons turned to look at her.

"No need to be nervous, young lady." One of the patrons said from his seat. "Aunty Aiko here's the nicest woman we know!" A few of the other diners agreed. After a moment of hesitation, Natsuki finally decided to walk into the cosy little restaurant. The diners all smiled at her, putting her at ease. At long last, she reached the counter.

"What would you like to have, dear?"

"Oh, I would like two set Bs and two strawberry parfait cups please." Natsuki ordered. Aunty Aiko smiled back and hit a few keys on a touch screen pad. A few minutes later, a scrawny chef walked out of the kitchen with four plastic bowls; two with rice and two with the signature miso soup.

"Thanks Naoya." Aunty Aiko said to the skinny little chef, who nodded in return and returned to the kitchen. At the side of the counter, a young waitress is preparing Natsuki's parfait. Just looking at the strawberry yoghurt getting poured in with the mixed nuts is enough to make Natsuki's mouth water. After the waitress topped both cups of parfait with whipped cream, she handed both cups to Aunty Aiko, who placed them in a box filled with ice. "This should keep them from melting while you make your trip home." Aunty Aiko explained. Natsuki whipped out her wallet and took out Shinzo's 1000 Yen note and her two 500 yen coins.

"Thank you so much dear!" Aunty Aiko smiled as Natsuki handed her the money, making her face turn slightly red. "Don't mind me asking, but who are you feeding with all that food?"

"Oh, it's for me and my dad..." Natsuki mumbled.

"Oh, you're such a kind and filial girl! Your father must be very proud of you!"

Natsuki's fists clenched. "Y-yeah...he is..."

"What is your name dear?" Thankfully, Aunty Aiko had changed the subject.

"Natsuki."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Natsuki! Do come again some time!"

With that, Natsuki waved goodbye to the patrons and Aunty Aiko and left the small establishment. "Hmm...Six o'clock. I doubt he'll be that drunk in the span of forty-five minutes." Natsuki commented as she checked her watch.

...

"It's so nice having you over for dinner, Sayori! It's really been a long time! Did you ask permission to stay over, though?" Lisa asked as she scooped a ladle full of soup for Sayori.

"Ehehe...thank Mrs. Kazuma; I really appreciate it." Sayori blushed. "Mom's eating with her colleagues today, so she allowed me to crash with you guys for dinner.

"Speaking of which, how's Midori doing?"

"My Mom's doing great! Maybe a bit tired, but she still manages to spend time with me..." Sayori says that last part with less enthusiasm than the start of her sentence. However, that short span of sadness is quickly replaced with a look of glee. "Oh! Oh! Next week, we should all eat dinner at my house! We can all get together again! My Mom's gonna cook her special Miso Soup-oh it's going to be awesome!" Lisa and Anon both smiled at Sayori's enthusiasm. After Anon stopped talking to Sayori three years ago, it felt great seeing her bright smile and blissful innocence again. Something about Sayori's face when she's happy really warmed Lisa's and Anon's heart.

"Sure. I'll go talk to Midori about it." Lisa suggested.

"YAY!" Sayori cheered. "We're going to have so much fun, right Anon?"

"Whatever you say, Sayori."

"Ehh? Come on, Anon! Why aren't you excited about it?"

"I-I am...I just...don't react to excitement the same way as you do, Sayori."

"Yeah, you're rarely excited about anything nowadays, young man; only pretty girls can move you just a little bit." Lisa commented with a smirk, causing Anon to blush.

"M-mom...not in front of Sayori..." Anon said while rubbing his hair. Lisa and Sayori both laughed at the boy's exasperated look. With that, the trio dug into their meal.

"Mmm...This fish is shhooo good, Mrs. Kazuma! You're a weally talented cook!" Sayori said with her mouth full, causing Anon to giggle a bit.

"Oh, you're giving me too much credit Sayori; Midori's a much better cook than I am."

"Can't argue with that!" Anon playfully said, earning an annoyed glare from his mother. This time, it was Sayori's turn to laugh.

"That's funny-my Mom says the same thing about your cooking: I guess there's at least one thing our Mom's are equally good at; being humble!"

"Sayori, you really see the best in every situation, don't you?"

"Well, sometimes we just gotta be happy! You should learn that sometime, Anon!"

"H-Hey!"

Sayori and Lisa burst out laughing. "Wow, she got you good, son! I assume there's no coming back from that one!"

"Oh, just you wait Mom; I'll get her back someday."

"Oh, it's on!"

...

"Dad? I'm back!"

Natsuki opened the front door to the sound of the television on the same news channel from before she left the house.

"Dad? I bought us dinner like you asked!"

No response. As Natsuki walked further into the shabby apartment, she could see Shinzo lying on the couch with beer cans everywhere and one still in his hand. He was as dead as a doorknob and she could already smell the stench coming off of him. Natsuki rolled her eyes as she set their dinner down on the dining table.

"I bought ice-cream too...if you even care..." Natsuki added on, looking at the ice box Aunty Aiko gave her. "I should probably keep these in the freezer-he is probably too tired to eat it."

As she headed to the kitchen to store the parfait, Natsuki caught movement from the corner of her eye. She spun around to see Shinzo slowly stirring in his deep sleep.

"D-dad...I-I brought y-you d-dinner..." Natsuki's voice trembled. The minute she looked into his eyes, she knew this wasn't the tired and indifferent man from an hour ago.

This was much worse.

"Goddamn it..." he let out a low growl as he stumbled to his feet. Natsuki timidly stood in her place as Shinzo slowly made her way over to her.

"It's...it's so fucking LATE!" Shinzo roared, making Natsuki jump. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. The man towered over her like a giant, making her feel small and completely worthless.

"I'm...so...goddamn...HUNGRY. MY STOMACH IS PUCNHING ALL MY OTHER ORGANS! CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT?!"

"I-I'm s-sorry d-dad..." Natsuki choked in between sobs. "I-I won't be so late again-I promise!"

"You promise, you promise...BUT YOU DON'T KEEP THEM! YOU SAY YOU'LL GET ME DINNER EARLY, BUT IT'S SIX THIRTY! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO EAT AT THIS TIME?!"

Natsuki had no idea why Shinzo was so angry, but she didn't say anything. This was already as bad as it could get. As she quietly sobbed, Shinzo looked down at Natsuki's hands.

"What is this?"He asked. Before Natsuki could answer, he snatched the ice box out of Natsuki's trembling hands.

"Parfait..? What the fuck is this?"

"I-I-I ...thought you would-"

"YOU WASTED MY MONEY ON SOME STUPID ICE-CREAM?!" Shinzo barked into Natsuki's face, making her scream. The poor girl fell back onto the floor as the man loomed over her. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD I WORKED TO EARN THIS? AND YOU'RE JUST WASTING IT ON-THIS STUPID JUNK FOOD!" Shinzo yelled as her threw the ice box at Natsuki, hitting her right in the stomach. Natsuki groaned, clutching her stomach.

"YOU'RE JUST A GREEDY, GOOD FOR NOTHING BITCH! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Natsuki tearfully ran into her room holding her box of parfait. Slamming the door behind her, she sank slowly to the ground and wept. Tears were fully streaming out of her puffy eyes and down her cheeks. She slowly lowered herself to the ground and put her head between her knees. Her entire body was now completely shaking after that ordeal. As she lifted up her shirt, her torso was already beginning to bruise slightly. Natsuki groaned in pain as her hand rubbed over that area.

Why had this happened? How did it ever come to this? Things were so good before, but now? Natsuki wondered all these things everyday: Why did she do to make him hate her so much? How could someone find joy in hurting another person? How sick and sadistic could that person be?

Natsuki slowly curled up into a ball on the floor; her stomach still throbbing after that hard hit. Her father was still screaming at nothing in the hallway, so she would have to wait until tomorrow to find medical supplies in the toilet.

As she slowly lifted the cover of the ice box, she noticed that the parfait had spilled out of the cups and into the box.

"Well...I guess it's better than nothing..." Natsuki dejectedly sighed as she drank the melted parfait out of the box like a slushie.

Why couldn't she just have a good dinner for once?

...

"That was such a good dinner, Mrs. Kazuma!" Sayori cheerfully said as Lisa and Anon walked her out of their front door.

"Don't mention it, Sayori. You're more than welcome to drop by anytime-as long as Midori's ok with it." Lisa said as she hugged Sayori warmly. As the two women let go of each other, Sayori turned to Anon. Under the dim porch light, Anon could make out a light blush on Sayori's face.

"Ehehe...thank you for having me over, Anon." Sayori said shyly as she held onto her left elbow. Anon tried to think of something witty to say, but for some reason, he couldn't think of anything. In fact, he realised that his heart was starting to beat a little faster. What is happening?

"Err, o-of course, I-err...would love to have you over anytime, Sayori." Anon nervously said, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't realise at the time, but his cheeks were blushing too. All of a sudden, Sayori threw her arms around Anon, causing him to blush more profusely.

"S-Sayori!"

"I missed you so much..." Sayori said softly into Anon's ear, on the verge of tears. Anon had no idea how to respond, but he tried his best anyway.

"Hey, hey, hey...there's no need to get all soap-opera-ish on me-I'm still here! And like I said, I'd love to have you over at anytime: Just, don't leave me with the burgers and fries again, alright?"

Sayori let out a small smile as she finally released her childhood friend. "No promises!" she giggled, causing Lisa to laugh as well.

"Well, I better get going; Mom's probably done with her business dinner by now. Bye, Mrs. Kazuma! Bye, Anon!" The mother and son pair bid farewell as Sayori happily danced across the road.

"Mom? I'm back!" Sayori happily greeted Midori as she burst through the front door. From the looks of things, it appeared that Midori too had just reached home following her business dinner; as she set her purse on the dining table.

"Welcome back, my cinnamon bun! How was dinner with Anon and Lisa?"

"It was great! Mrs. Kazuma cooked us a yummy meal of miso soup and her steamed fish, though it can't ever compare to yours-no offense..."

"Oh, don't say such things, bun-Lisa's a great cook too, and besides; we know which one us really is the best miso cook, now don't we?"

Sayori had a puzzled expression on her face. "We do? Who?"

"Aunty Aiko, of course!"

"Oh, yeah...ehehe..."

After Sayori and Lisa had their showers, both women got dressed and met back at the living room. The television was turned on to a random news channel.

"So, tell me; how is Anon? I've haven't seen him a while and I hope he's doing fine."

"He's doing great! I saw him for the first time in ages today and it's like he never changed! He's still watching his old anime and wrestling and all that, but then again, so do I."

"Has he grown taller?"

"By a lot! We were the same height going into elementary school, but he's a head and a half above me now...it's actually a little embarrassing..."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Sayori. Anyway, what courses is he taking? Does he share any with you?"

"Actually Mom, we have a completely different subject combination. He's a physics student and I'm taking Biology. We both have Maths, but his is combined in the second and third periods while I'm having Chemistry practical. He's also taking Arts and we have different Japanese teachers."

"Oh, that's a shame. How's his studies?"

"Ehehe, not so good, but now that we've reconnected, I'm going to try and motivate him!" Sayori said happily. However, Midori gave her daughter a stern look.

"Sayori...your results aren't exactly good either. I know I said to not focus too much on studies, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't put in effort either."

"I'm sorry Mom, but the lessons right now are really demanding! I still have so much homework undone; most of which is due tomorrow and I also need to help Aunty Aiko out!" Sayori lied; that wasn't the only reason why she was struggling in class.

"Well, I trust you, dear. And I trust that you know what's right for yourself. Just make sure you don't negate your studies too much while focusing on others, alright? Don't make the same mistakes I did."

"I know, Mom. By the way, Mrs. Kazuma suggested we all come to our house next for dinner! Can we let them come over pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?"

"Ok, ok, calm down Sayori; of COURSE I'll gladly have them over: They're family! Besides: it's been, what, five, six, years since they've last come here?" Sayori's face fell.

"Erm, Mom? They err...actually haven't been over to our house, not both of them at the same time, at least. We never actually had dinner together after Dad..." Sayori stopped herself from continuing after seeing Midori's sad smile.

"It's ok, Sayori. I'm not mad at you for bringing this up: Haru and I, we...never really got along that well and I had to end things once I saw signs of things going downhill." Midori noticed Sayori's despondent look on her face and decided to lighten the mood again. "Anyways, what date do you have in mind? Are they free next week?" Thankfully, it seemed that Sayori's mood took a 180.

"Date? Free?"

"Haha, yes dear." Midori couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Do you know when they would like to have dinner over?"

"Whoops...I got so excited that I forgot to ask them when they would like to come over...Ehehe..."

"Oh, don't worry so much, dear; you can always ask Anon tomorrow. Speaking of which, it's getting late; you should probably get some sleep now."

"But Mom-it's only nine." Sayori informed her mother after looking at the clock.

"Yes, but I don't want you oversleeping again-remember how your conduct grade dropped to "fair" after you got into detention for being late one too many times?"

"Oh yeah..." Sayori let out a fake smile. "...you're right, Mom-I'll go get some sleep."

After brushing her teeth, Sayori climbed into her white bed and snuggled up with her stuffed cow. Midori laughed as she lifted Sayori's yellow sheets and gently tucked her in. "Aren't you getting too old for Mr Cow?"

"NO! I love Mr Cow!" Sayori blushed.

"Alright, dear, sleep tight."

"Goodnight Mom!"

"Goodnight, my little cinnamon bun."

...

"Ow..."

Natsuki opened her eyes as she lay there on the stone cold floor. The sun was shining through her blinds and into her room. Her room was spinning around her and her head was throbbing.

"Kshh...AH!" Natsuki let out a sharp inhale as a burst of pain shot through her head as she tried moving. As she moved her eyes around the room, she was relieved to see her door was still closed.

"So he didn't come in to beat me up further; Dad of the week guys!" Natsuki said cynically to herself. Trying to hoist herself up again, Natsuki moved her skinny arms under her and tried to push herself up. Despite not weighing that much, she found out that they simply didn't have enough energy to do so.

"God-damnit; are you kidding me right now?" Natsuki angrily sighed as her arms gave way under her weight. Her eyes scanned over to her alarm clock. "0811" it read, in bright red light.

"So I still have some time...I guess I'll sit here and let my energy come back." Natsuki suggested to herself. "Wow, that's a GREAT idea, Natsuki, you're so smart-things Dad has never said to me in a long ass time..."

After talking to herself for a while, Natsuki decided that enough was enough and tried to up on her feet again. Thankfully, she seemed to have regained some strength as she slowly and painfully managed to hoist herself up.

"OW-FINALLY!" she shouted.

Natsuki hobbled out of her room. The smell of beer lingered around, but there was no sign of Shinzo. "Hard at work, I see..." Natsuki scoffed. As she entered the toilet, she opened the medicine cabinet and took out a bottle of painkillers and some rubbing cream. After popping two pills into her mouth, she took off her white shirt to apply the cream. A large bruise had already formed.

"Here goes nothing..."

Natsuki scooped some cream with her finger and took a deep breath. "NGHH!" Natsuki winced through gritted teeth as she rubbed the cream over her bruise. After rubbing for a good minute, she grabbed her school uniform and threw it on.

"No breakfast-what a surprise." She sarcastically said as she threw on her blazer, making sure her other bruises weren't as obvious. Walking over to her schoolbag, she noticed something sticking out of it. It was her biology textbook.

"Oh crap! Yuri! Oh god-I haven't even started my part yet! Maybe I can still make it before assembly."

Natsuki bolted out of the front door and headed straight for the lift. "08-18" read her watch. "I still have time, I still have time..." Natsuki said to herself in an attempt to calm her nerves.

In a stroke of luck, the lift landing was empty and it went straight down without making stops at any floor. Natsuki burst out of the lift as soon as the doors opened and made a break for the school. Natsuki may not be that well-built, but she was a fast runner. Within five minutes, she had reached the outer-gate of her high school, albeit accompanied with heavy pants and sweat raining down her neck, staining her uniform.

"Good morning. I see you're finally on time." Kouichi said to her at the gate with a fake smile smacked on his face.

"Yeah, good morning... dickhead..." Natsuki muttered as she let out an even faker smile. "What a fucking loser...now-where would Yuri be?" Natsuki thought of her awkward conversation with Yuri the previous day and how she was eating in the garden. Maybe she could be there right now?

Natsuki used her remaining energy to sprint to the garden as fast as possible. Sure enough, Yuri was at one of the benches writing something down. "Please be the homework, please be the homework"

"Hey Yuri! Are you doing our homework?" The timid girl jumped, but she quickly settled down once she saw who had called her. "O-oh, h-hi N-Natsuki...erm, yes-I am doing our homework. You took a while to get here so I decided to start first-n-not that I'm saying you were late or anything!"

"Nah, its fine-I had some stuff to do as well. So, how much have you done? Can I see it?"

"S-sure..." Yuri gingerly slid the drawing paper over to Natsuki. As Natsuki scanned over her paper, her eyes widened. After looking at it for a good two minutes, Natsuki set the paper down. By now, Yuri's face had gone completely red and she was hiding behind her curtain of hair.

"I-I have such terrible handwriting." Yuri stated in embarrassment.

"Are you kidding?! This is great!"

"B-but you took so long to read it..." Yuri continued, still unsure about Natsuki's compliment.

"Well, yeah-b-but that was because you wrote a lot of stuff!" Natsuki quickly shot down her own compliment. "It wasn't because I was admiring it or anything!" This had become all too familiar with Yuri. "And you know what-I can do it too-just watch!" Natsuki took out a blue marker and started to write in Yuri's cursive, but she quickly gave up after her hand started hurting. Yuri couldn't help but giggle at Natsuki's futile effort.

"W-what are you laughing at?!" Yuri quickly covered her mouth, but ended up covering her entire face.

"O-oh my goodness...I-I'm so sorry!" she hastily apologised.

"Lighten up, Yuri: I was only teasing...jeez..." Yuri timidly looked at Natsuki. She had a big smile on her face, but it was genuine and something about it made Yuri feel at ease. "...anyway, this isn't going to work, but I'll try my best to finish my part and we can do a bit before class starts too. Sound good?"

"Yes. That sounds good." Yuri replied.

"Noticed that?" Natsuki suddenly said while scribbling down her notes onto the paper.

"Noticed what?" Yuri raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't stutter this time! Actually both times!"

"Oh, oh my..."

"I'm proud of you, Yuri!" Natsuki happily said, causing Yuri's cheeks to flush red in embarrassment. Natsuki could see a small smile emerge on her face, making her smile in return.

...

"Well, that's all I can do for now." Natsuki said as the bell for morning assembly rang. "I'll finish the rest of this before Mrs. Chen arrives, alright?

"Alright...erm...Natsuki?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to...walk to the parade square with me?" Yuri nervously fiddled with her hair.

"What are you talking about-of course I would! Come on Yu-" Yuri's eyes suddenly filled up with fear.

"A-actually, I-I have stuff to do that I just forgotten! I need to go now, so...s-see you!" With that, Yuri quickly dismissed herself and rushed off.

"Hey Nat!" a voice came from behind Natsuki, startling her.

"Oh. It's just you two. Jeez! Could you have maybe NOT sneaked up on me?" Natsuki whirled around to find Mabel and Maple walking up to her.

"Sorry Nat." The twins speak in unison. "Jinx. Jinx again!"

"My god, you two are childish as shit!" Natsuki scoffed with annoyance.

"No-you know who's childish? That guy over there!" Maple pointed to a guy with light brown hair. Natsuki instantly recognized him.

"You mean Kei? My table partner? I mean; yeah, he's an idiot, but what makes you think he's childish?"

"L-look at what's in his hand!" Mabel noted, trying to suppress a laugh. Natsuki craned her neck further to see what exactly Kei was holding, but she immediately shrank back once she got an eyeful of that decorative cover.

"It's freakin' Manga! Nothing's more immature than reading that shit at this age!" Maple laughed with her sister. All the while Natsuki was suppressing the urge to smack both of them in the face.

"Y-yeah...Kei is a pretty stupid guy, huh?" Natsuki said softly. "Stupid is an understatement, Natsuki-and you said he's your table partner? How the hell do you manage to sit next to him and not kill yourself?" Mabel joked.

"Oh I do-I do feel like killing myself every time I'm next to him!" Natsuki said, causing Maple and Mabel to burst out laughing. "...but not for that reason, jerks..." the petite girl continued, although much softer. Luckily, Maple and Mabel were too busy laughing to pick up on what she said.

"Come on, let's get to assembly."

...

The first half of school went by relatively easy for Natsuki: She handed her biology project on time, economics was boring but she kept awake, but that took most of her energy away. Thankfully, it was lunch time and she could finally get something to eat and refuel.

"I guess I'll find the two Manga-haters..." Natsuki said to herself as she stood in line at a snack vending machine behind three girls who were chatting amongst themselves. "Oh-It's just Fumi and her two lackeys Monika and Kisami. Wonder what they're up to." While waiting, Natsuki decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"So I'm thinking of starting a new club-would you two like to come and help me start it?" Monika asked. Natsuki was trying her best not to laugh at her ridiculously large white bow.

"Pfft...What the hell kind of bow is that? How do the other two take her seriously?"

"Depends." Fumi said. "Who's in it and what's it about?" Natsuki wasn't impressed. "Seriously? What the hell kind of response is that? "Depends"?! Was there a more monotonous way you could have said that?!" Monika seemed to have agreed with Natsuki's sentiments as her face got a little red.

"Ahaha, well...we currently have one other member: You all know Sayori, right?" Natsuki was taken aback. THAT Sayori? "Wow. She's in the same club as Monika? How the hell did they even meet? I would have loved to have seen that first meeting."

"Eww. No thanks already." Fumi flatly stated. "That girl rubs me the wrong way. She's just so happy about everything and I'm like, so depressed every day, so her stupid carefree attitude just pisses me off!"

"Wow." Natsuki thought. "What a fucking bitch! I don't even like Sayori all that much and even I think that's going too far. Sorry you're so miserable all the time, Fumi." The pink-haired girl looked back to Monika, who had a look of sadness on her face. "Something's up with her..." Natsuki thought.

"Oh, don't be like that, Fumi." Kisami, the tallest of the three, chided her friend. "There's nothing wrong with being optimistic-you should learn that once in a while." Natsuki nearly chuckled at Kisami's burn while Fumi shot her friend an annoyed look. Kisami bent down to take her packet of chips from the vending machine. "Well, we got our food, let's go."

"Actually girls, I have some things to attend to. You two go ahead first; I'll catch up." Monika quickly dismisses herself from the scene while Fumi and Kisami shrugged before leaving as well.

As the girls left the vending machine, Natsuki stepped up to it. Nothing seemed to be affordable for her, until her eyes caught the sight of a small packet of vegetable crackers at the bottom. "What a variety of affordable options..." she joked as she took out her...

Natsuki's heart skipped a beat. She felt around her skirt. Nothing. She checked her blazer pockets. Nothing. She dug into her schoolbag.

Nothing.

By now, Natsuki was panicking. Sweat was pouring out from everywhere and tears were starting to form in her eyes. She looked back at the vending machine. The packet of vegetable crackers sat there, almost as if it were taunting her. Fighting back her tears, Natsuki walked away from the vending machine with clenched fists. "There are still too many people here...I'll have to wait until they disperse before I can do my thing..."

Unfortunately, there were many people loitering around the vending machine and Natsuki quickly grew impatient. "The closest vending machine is the senior's block and they're all having lunch here. No one should be able to see me..." Natsuki said to herself in an attempt to take her mind off her rumbling stomach. "I should look there first."

As Natsuki trudged on to the senior's block, she could feel herself getting weaker with every step. The walk from the cafeteria past the parade square and the science block took a mere four minutes, but to Natsuki it felt like four hours. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she hauled herself up the stairs and into the science block. The vending machine was now only a few steps away!

Natsuki looked up in determination. This was it! She could practically see the snacks beckoning to her; cheering her on. With a deep breath, Natsuki pushed on. Fifty more meters...forty more meters-the food was literally right there...thirty more meters-Natsuki could make out the individual brands by now...twenty more meters-the soft whir of the vending machine could be heard...ten more meters.

Suddenly, Natsuki began to feel faint. Her knees grew weak as she held onto a pillar for support.

"I'm...so...close..." Natsuki tried walking forward, but her vision was starting to fade as her eyes started drooping.

Five more meters. Her dimming vision could make out the prices of each snack...

...but it was too late. Natsuki's knees buckled under her weight and she fell to the ground.

...

"Thanks for lending me some of your money, Monika!"

"Don't mention it, Sayori."

"Gosh I can't believe it-we're going to be starting our very own club! Oh my god-this is going to be so exciting! We're going to have so much fun-oh I just know it Monika!"

"Sayori, I don't mean to be rude, but we haven't even thought of what club we're going to run yet. Maybe we should settle the basic stuff first before moving on to the fun stuff, huh?"

"Well, I'm getting a snack first-we can discuss this later at the classroom. And besides, it's not going to be a hard task anyway: You can bring all your popular friends to join our club."

"Yeah...friends..."

"Oh oh! Can I be vice-president? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?"

"But we haven't even-ah sure whatever you say, Sayori." Monika let out a defeated sigh.

"YAY! Oh you're the BEST Monika! Oh this club hasn't even started and it's already on a roll!"

"Sayori."

"You're gonna get YOUR friends, I'm gonna get MINE,"

"Sayori?"

"We're gonna buy snacks, we're gonna have sleepovers every weekend-"

"Sayori!" Monika shouted, causing Sayori to jump out of her skin.

"UWAH! Hey! What was that for?!"

Monika pointed at the vending machine over in the distance. There was a girl lying in front of it.

"O-oh my god!" Sayori cried. The two girls immediately rushed over to the vending machine. The girl lay there; motionless. She had pink hair and two red ribbons tying her twin-tails up. She was rather short, even shorter than Sayori. The frightened girl immediately recognised her.

"N-NATSUKI! A-ARE YOU OKAY?" Sayori shook the girl, but there was no response. Sayori looked over to Monika who had an equally frightful expression in her emerald eyes.

"M-Monika? W-what are we going to do?" The brunette had just as a hard time speaking as Sayori. However, she quickly regained her composure.

"Hand me your water bottle-now!" Sayori did as she was told and handed Monika her red water bottle, which Monika used to pour water all over Natsuki. To both girls' relief, the petite girl seemed to stir slightly. Sayori immediately rushed to her side with tears of relief in her eyes.

"N-Natsuki! Can you hear me?"

"C-can I have some p-parfait..?" Natsuki blurted out, still in a daze. Sayori looked back to Monika, who had taken some ointment out of her purse. "This should help her get her bearings."

Monika waved a finger full of ointment in front of Natsuki's nose and the pink-haired girl quickly snapped out of her trance. "S-Sayori?! M-Monika?! W-what are you two doing?!"

Natsuki angrily pushed the two of them away as she got up on her feet.

"What the hell is going on?!"

End of Chapter Three